


Jealousy

by Palefire73



Series: Loki Origins [24]
Category: Frigga - Fandom, Loki - Fandom, Marvel, Norse Gods - Fandom
Genre: Frigga is a fab mum, Gen, Jealous Loki, Life Lessons, Other, young loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2019-01-01 02:04:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12146283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: Loki is doing really well in school and is certain he will win the class award for being good.





	Jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> There is a scene in this story where the present and the past are alternated between. The present is denoted by ordinary text and the past is denoted by the ~ mark followed by italicised text, followed by the ~ mark again. It is also indented. I hope it is clear enough.

Following on from the success of the play put on by the children from the youngest class in the Palace, an extra-curricular group was set up for children of all ages to drop in and learn all about theatre. Miss Sturludóttir had approached Queen Frigga and asked if it was possible to provide such a thing because she felt that the production of shows would be of great benefit to the children. It would teach them all aspects of theatrical activity, from set design to lighting, from writing dialogue to delivering it in a believable and entertaining manner and all the other things it entailed. It would create a fun learning environment where children of all ages would hopefully form friendships and have their confidence boosted by seeing the success their hard work could bring.

Fortunately, it proved to be very popular; parents were keen for their children to network with the future nobility and elite of Asgard and the free evenings it gave them up to three times a week were an added bonus. The children wanted something a bit different to do in their spare time and this provided the perfect excuse to go off for a few hours to paint, sing, dress up and generally have a great time with their new found friends. Of course there were other benefits too – the tutors of their regular classes in school saw within a very short time that the children who attended were making better progress in their reading, writing and art lessons, amongst others. 

For Frigga, it meant that Loki had something to occupy his mind while Thor and Odin were up at the training grounds. She had received word only a couple of days previously to say they would be extending their time up there by three weeks because they had made better progress in their training than was expected and Odin wanted them to lead an expedition under examination conditions to see how well they had picked up their lessons. He wanted Thor and his companions to put all of that information and training into practise under relatively safe conditions to see how they fared. Frigga was quite upset at being left in Asgard alone for even longer than she had expected and was only comforted by the fact that Loki did not seem to have noticed that the month of Thor’s absence had come and gone already. If he asked about it, she would simply have to tell him the truth and hope that he understood. At least this new source of interest meant that he was not in the nursery alone with either his mother or Fulla every single evening and he was definitely enjoying going along to the group to see what they would be learning next.

As with many educational establishments around the Nine, the Palace School had an incentive scheme with which they encouraged effort in the children. It ranged from verbal praise, through bright stickers on a piece of good work right up to certificates denoting excellent attendance or great improvement, for example. In Miss Sturludóttir’s class one such reward was “Star of the Day” and the pupil who was chosen for this title would get to wear a golden badge all day the following day until the next one was chosen. It meant that each child had a fairly good chance of being “Star of the Day” around once a month – more if they were a bright and well behaved child, less if they were naughty or lazy – and it was always bestowed last thing before the children went home.

Having only recently started at school, Loki had won “Star of the Day” only once and that had been quite a few weeks ago. The current term had been going for three months and was due to break up for a week for holidays and he was getting rather frustrated each time he saw  the golden badge going to another child. Arvid had won it twice for excellent effort on homework, Johan for his progress in reading, Hulda for helping to tidy up each day… even Sigyn had won it three times this term. It did not seem to be fair! However, although Loki was a clever child, he did have problems concentrating at times when the lesson became boring to him, usually because he found the subject matter a bit simple, or lacking in interest. He still managed to answer questions if Miss Sturludóttir asked them of him – usually to try to catch him out – but his effort was not always as good as it could have been and so he missed out on the award to children who achieved less, but who put more work into what they had managed to do.

The play had changed his attitude however. When Loki had stood at the front of the stage to bow to the applause and had seen just how impressed the audience had been, he had positively basked in the attention. He had been amazed at how something like a play allowed people to come together and experience the telling of a story in such a fundamental and emotional way. His heart had soared as he had seen the smiles and the tears caused by their performances and it was something he found he wanted more of. That is why he had signed up for theatre group and was putting more effort into his reading and writing; his young mind had been inspired and he now wanted to know more about this area of the arts. As with any other child, his effort was increasing as he became more interested in the subject and all it had to offer, and this was having a positive effect in his other classes. So much so that, as his English teacher, Miss Sturludóttir in particular was quite pleasantly surprised at how he had suddenly started to perk up in reading lessons; he had even asked to take a book home to complete a chapter he had been halfway through at the end of the school day. Loki could tell that things were going really well in this lesson and one particular Wednesday afternoon he found himself the recipient of a large blue star-shaped sticker on his essay along with a large smile of praise from his teacher. His young mind went into overdrive with pride and within a few minutes he had come to only one conclusion:

 

_I will get “Star of the Day” today!_

 

Giddy with anticipation, Loki could hardly wait for the large hands on the brightly coloured timepiece to move around to “quiet time”, which was the hour in which all the children would put away their work, tidy their workspace and take time to relax a bit at the end of the school day. It would end with them all sitting on the floor surrounding their tutor while she or he would tell them about important things coming up, hand out homework, perhaps read a short story and, in Miss Sturludóttir’s class, hand out the coveted golden badge to the Star of The Day. Eventually, the hour hand clicked round to the number twelve for three o'clock and the teacher rang a small hand bell. The next half an hour was spent tidying up everything that had been used that day, washing utensils and hands, and placing the chairs on the desks out of the way for the cleaners. All the children gravitated towards the area for storytelling and it was Loki who sat right at the front, hardly able to keep himself still as he watched everyone else arrive. Miss Sturludóttir was sitting patiently in her chair watching the children complete their tasks and as they all gravitated to the space around her, including the current “Star”, Erik. Today had been very pleasant and she had been very pleased at how most of the children had tried hard with their work. Two children had caught her eye in particular and she was currently trying to decide which one would be her Star of the Day. She sighed; sometimes it was an easy choice, but sometimes it was incredibly difficult and today it was proving quite hard to make a decision.

 

Loki had come on leaps and bounds since he had joined the theatre group and she was very proud of the way he was really starting to engage with his lessons now that he could see why he was expected to learn the things Miss Sturludóttir showed them. However, Ingrid, a very shy child, had blossomed ever since she had played Cloud Number Three and had also been one of the girls who had brought on the “The End” placard at the end of the play. Miss Sturludóttir had watched her pluck up the courage to start to join in with other children in the activities they had been set and the once exceptionally quiet and lonely child now had several friends in the class and seemed to actually enjoy coming here. In fact, just as Miss Sturludóttir was trying to decide who would get today’s award, she watched Ingrid pat Loki’s arm and ask to sit next to him; something she would not have done even a few days ago. It was lovely to see Loki act like the perfect gentleman as he made a space for the little girl to sit beside him, but then all eyes were back on her as she realised everyone had arrived. As she looked around at the faces of her young charges, she smiled at them all and made up her mind who would be wearing the golden badge the following day.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Well, you shall have your opportunity, Loki. Your mother is in the nursery because she insisted on having a little free time with you today. We have ordered a special supper from the kitchens… it is your favourite!” Fulla squeezed the little Prince’s hand gently as they arrived home and found Frigga busying herself with a bit of tidying up in the play area of the nursery. The graceful Queen of Asgard turned as she heard the door opening and smiled with happiness as Loki broke free of Fulla’s hand and ran up to her. She swept him up and twirled him around before hugging him tightly and kissing the top of his head, inhaling the warm scent of his brown hair.

 

“Oh, my son! I am so happy to see you! Have you had a nice time at school? How were your lessons today?” Lowering Loki to the floor, they went over to the dressing area and Frigga helped Loki out of his jacket. He was quite fidgety and he clearly had something to share with her.

 

“I won ‘Star of the Day’ today!” He exclaimed, unable to contain himself.

 

_~ “Now then children, settle down. It is time to announce my Star!” ~_

 

“Star of the day? Is that the award your tutor gives out for being good?” Fulla led Loki into the bathroom where they washed their hands ready for supper.

“Yes! And I was so good today. I did really well with my reading book. Miss says I am getting better and better.”

 

_~ “You are all such delightful children and it is my pleasure to teach you. Every day shows me the wonder of what you all are capable of. From the oldest… right down to the very youngest.” ~_

 

“You got ‘Star of the Day’ for your reading? Oh, Loki I am so proud! The theatre group is doing you such good. You get a badge to wear, do you not? A golden one?”

 

_~ “It is so difficult to choose just one Star, but that is the rule and so that is what I must do. I have been very pleased with the progress made in reading this week and a few of you have been outstanding.” ~_

 

“Er… yes, there is a badge to wear.”

“Where is it? I should very much like to see it.” Looking at her young son's reflection in the mirror, Frigga was surprised to see sudden reluctance on Loki’s face.

“You do have it, don’t you?”

“It is in my coat pocket.”

 

_~ “However, I only have one badge. So today the person who I am going to make my Star has had to do something extra special to stand out from so many marvellous  children, for you are all wonderful!” ~_

 

“Can you fetch it, Loki? I would love to see it and we might forget it if we leave it in your pocket. What if you wear a different coat tomorrow?”

“You cannot see it.” Loki’s voice sounded uncertain and Frigga became puzzled at this unexpected hesitancy.

“Why ever not?” She asked amusedly, rinsing off the soap.

“Because it is invisible!” Loki announced and, having dried his hands, walked back out to the nursery room.

 

_~ “This child has recently overcome difficulties in reading, is polite, punctual and friendly, and… shush now, children! And they have really, really come out of their shell in the last few weeks. So… my ‘Star of the Day’ today is…” ~_

 

“Invisible?! Loki, you do not really expect me to believe that, do you? I saw it a few months ago when you first won it and I know full well that it is a golden star! Where is it?” Frigga followed Loki out and they went over to the table, where Fulla was serving up the supper.

Loki would not look at her and Frigga realised that this was a new milestone for the young boy. He was telling his first lie and, like all lies, it had caught up with him. “You did not win it, did you, Loki?”

 

_~ “Ingrid! Come here sweetheart! And Erik, would you bring the badge to hand over to her please?” ~_

 

“I _nearly_ did!” Exclaimed Loki. “I was sitting next to the winner and I was _just as good as her_!”

“Oh, Loki…” Frigga knelt down beside Loki’s chair and took his hands in hers to stroke them, “Perhaps next time?”

“Ingrid won it and she did _not_ deserve it as much as I! So I did not applaud her and I did not smile!” Loki took one of his hands away and picked up his fork sullenly. Frigga glanced at Fulla, who shrugged, unable to understand this behaviour. She gently but firmly removed the fork from Loki’s grip and moved his chair so that he had to face her.

“Loki, I am disappointed in you. Do you understand why?”

A slight nod of his head, along with a tremble in his bottom lip and moisture appearing in her son’s clear blue eyes were upsetting to Frigga, but he had to learn this lesson. It was one of the hardest to learn, but a valuable one nonetheless.

“Your reaction to someone else winning the award was not nice, Loki.” Reddening of the little boy’s cheeks showed his embarrassment, but still she ploughed on. “You only thought about yourself and what you believed you had done to merit it. Yet you should have taken a moment to think upon what Ingrid had done.” Loki tried to answer, but it came out in a sob and Frigga pulled him towards her, whereupon he hugged her tightly. “Perhaps you were very good, perhaps your effort has got better, but perhaps Ingrid really did do just a little better than you in Miss Sturludóttir’s eyes today.” Loki hugged her tighter as she stroked his hair, “It does not mean you did badly, Loki. And there was no need to lie to me, was there?” She kissed his head again and leaned back, meeting Loki’s reluctant eyes and wiping away his tears with a napkin.

“Jealousy is the most poisonous of all emotions, Loki. It sneaks in. It is an insidious thing and before we know it, we are caught in its tangled web. Do not allow jealousy to enter your heart Loki. It can only lead to no good.” She smiled at the little boy, who was now starting to cheer up a bit. “You are my Star every day, Loki. You surely know that?”

Loki grinned then and picked his fork back up, hungry now, but he looked at her questioningly as she took her seat opposite him at the table.

“Even when Thor is here?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while - I hope this was worth the wait :)
> 
> This story was inspired by a tale told to me by my friend, whose granddaughter insisted she had won pupil of the day at her school until she was asked where the badge was. The lines in this story where Loki says it is in his pocket, invisible, and that he nearly won it are what the little girl really told her!


End file.
